European transformations between the real and virtual
European transformations between the real and virtual

Summary/Abstract: Understanding political, social and cultural changes within Europe can reveal the strategies of creating new urban structures through which a new political order and a new identity of a city can be established. The rhythm of the new city structures and communication bypasses eliminates the fatigue of many European city centres, thus creating a quality habitat. New, attractive architectural motives increase the fluidity of the urban space, reanimated city quarters as well as redefined industrial and military zones energise the cities of Europe. The reality of a city also stands for the city marketing, defining a city as a complex of products and activities – as merchandise. Architecture becomes a means of motivation and creation of the image of urban space, its increasing activities filling in the emotional gap and – contrary to the alienation – contributing to the urban identity. Information technology creates the virtual worlds: media landscape melts with the built environment thus creating hyper-surfaces; a hyper-surface does not have a binary relation to space as it exceeds both categories of the real and the virtual by integrating them. Examples of urban transformations within Europe are given to support the urban ideal of a dense, compact city for the information society.

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